


A Dip in the Ice

by witchymarvelspacecase



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 07:37:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12338334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchymarvelspacecase/pseuds/witchymarvelspacecase





	A Dip in the Ice

Being an animal shifter had its advantages. You were rarely ever cold, being that you could shift to a critter covered in fur. You didn’t need as much sleep as most people; your animal forms had much more energy than humans. The best advantage was your ability to become so small. A mouse was a household nuisance for sure, but they were pretty common all around the world, and they made for great spies. Even though that particular creature was hard to transition into or hold for very long, due to the strain on your muscles and bones, it was your favorite. Add to that, the enhanced hearing, and you were a near perfect fly on the wall. 

Your enhanced senses were invaluable in your line of work, but it also meant that your day to day life was uncomfortable, and at times quite awkward.

Though you were rarely cold, you had trouble cooling down. Since your shifting capabilities were limited to other mammals, keeping yourself cool in hotter climates was difficult at times. Your electric and cooling bills were usually high. Not sleeping very much led to being bored quite easily, which led to impulsive and frequently bad decisions. Your high energy levels also made you a spastic person. Your brain would jump from idea to idea and you had a tendency to speak without thinking first. A good portion of your young adult life was spent alienated from others. Not just because of your powers, but because of your social awkwardness and poor judgement. Until the Avengers recruited you, you’d been a loner, which could be hard on anyone. But the worst side effect of your powers, was your enhanced sense of smell.

Sure, it meant that  _ good _ smells like baked goods and rain, were more abundant, but it also meant that the worst smells were more pungent as well. As a result, training in the gym with the other Avengers was your least favorite activity,

More often than not, you chose to do as much training as you could outside. Usually alone, but Bucky and Steve were frequent companions. Sam had come running with you once, but only once; Bucky and Steve sometimes had a hard time keeping up with you. Unfortunately, weapons training and sparring was best done in the safety of the compound, so you had to bite the bullet and go to the gym. The sweaty, pheromone laced, stagnant air had you struggling to focus.

“Tony, I am  _ begging  _ you; please out in windows that open! I can’t breathe!”

“What’re you talking about?” Tony seemed genuinely confused. For a normal, or even semi-normal human, the HVAC system in the compound gym would be more than sufficient. But for you?

“She’s got enhanced senses dumbass,” Natasha said, looking at Tony with a blank face.

“Oh…” Tony said, one hand going to his goatee, “I didn’t think of that. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Well, it’s only me. I didn’t want to make extra work for anyone just ‘cause of me. It’s not a big deal actually. Forget I said anything.” You were blushing now. You’d talked before thinking again.The petulant whine you’d let out just moments ago, already a regret.

No one replied immediately, and your brain interpreted that as it wanted, that the others were mad at you. You left quickly, not able to look anyone in the eye.

Even though it was January, you didn’t grab a jacket before you ran out of the building, instead choosing to shift to one of your favorite forms; a small, cream colored wolf. Her fur kept you more than warm enough as you dashed towards the trees surrounding the compound. 

...

Bucky and Steve were just returning from running errands in the city. Bucky could have sworn he saw a small, furry shape dart towards the treeline, but chose not to say anything to Steve as the two made their way towards the gym to join training. 

When they entered, it was to the sounds of Natasha, Clint and Tony talking loudly. 

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked, crossing the room towards the heavy bag, taping up his hands as he walked.

“Y/N ran out just a second ago,” Clint said, gesturing to the door.

“She said something and got embarrassed,” Natasha explained. 

“I just don’t understand why she didn’t say something sooner; it’s not a huge deal. If i’d known it was a problem I would have fixed it for her.” Tony said, still looking confused.

“Known what was a problem?” Bucky asked. He was still by the door, having not entered the room fully when he’d heard the arguing.

“The smells in here,” Nat spoke again, “with her senses, it gets overpowering. She asked Tony to put in windows that open, but when he asked her why she didn’t ask sooner, she got skittish. Then she ran.” 

Bucky groaned before speaking, “I saw  _ her _ outside.” Steve shot him a quizzical look, but said nothing as Bucky turned and left.

“What’s  _ his _ deal?” Tony asked. He had no idea why everyone was so desperate to run out of the gym… maybe those windows  _ were  _ necessary.

“He’s just worried about her,” Clint replied, moving from the others to the side of the room to grab his water bottle. When he turned back to the group, he was met with puzzled faces. He rolled his eyes, “seriously guys? I’m the only one who’s noticed?”

...

Bucky caught up to you at the edge of the lake near the compound. It was partially iced over and you were sitting at the edge of the ice, still in wolf form, looking into the water. He paused just out of sight and watched you. Clint had been right, Bucky did worry about you. The two of you had gotten close, he trusted you; especially since the thunderstorm.

The sounds of the thunder had grated against his sensitive nerves, and the flashes of lightning made him jump. The state of hypervigilance that the Winter Soldier had left behind, made storms hard for Bucky, but this one was worse for some reason. He had isolated himself, but you’d found him. He’d been curled into as small of a shape as he could be, in the corner of the room, his back to the wall. Bucky had been berating himself for not being able to cope better with a simple storm, children could handle storms, but he couldn’t. He wasn’t nearly as far into his recovery as he wanted to be and it frustrated him. When you entered the room, he reeled back even farther on instinct alone. 

It had taken you a moment to understand; Bucky was pretty standoffish usually, but he didn’t normally pull back as if you’d shocked him. Taking a sniff of the air, you found he  _ was _ afraid, maybe not of  _ you _ in particular, but he was very on edge. You stepped back and shifted, making yourself small and non-threatening; a little fox, before padding over to him again. You gently nosed his hand, asking for pets, and he complied. Soon you were curled up in his lap with his hands stroking your fur. You knew it was calming to pet an animal, and that was why you’d offered your own fur up, but having Bucky petting you, well it felt a little self-serving.

After that night, Bucky sought you out when he needed help, and you were more than happy to oblige. You were hard on yourself too, frustrated when you didn’t work as well as you wanted, and you knew how much having a sympathetic ear could help. The more time you spent together, the more he came out of his shell, and tried to help you too.

Bucky loved you. You were skilled, funny, and even when you tripped mentally, you fought like hell to get back up. You inspired him everyday, but he didn’t know how to tell you, so he kept quiet. Not quiet enough apparently… Clint had noticed after all.

You had scented Bucky approaching before he broke the treeline, but you made no move away from the edge of the ice, even as he came closer. The ice you were sitting on was pretty thin, too thin to support a human’s weight, and you had assumed that Bucky would have noticed that; you’d assumed wrong.

Bucky continued to approach, and he was within arms reach when the ice crackled, and then he disappeared from view. The ice you were standing on separated from the shore, and dipped a little under you, your legs and chest were now wet, matting the fur to your body. Scrambling back up, you looked back into the water, searching for Bucky, but he didn’t reappear. With a huff, you shifted quickly back to human form, and then you jumped in after him.

…

“What the fuck were you thinking?!” you shouted at Bucky as you reached the door to the compound. 

Once you’d dragged him from the water, you’d both sprinted back to the compound; wet clothes and icy winds were NOT an Avenger’s friend.

Bucky didn’t answer, so you separated, both heading for your respective rooms and hot showers. The moment your feet hit the tiled floor of your bathroom, you stripped and turned on the shower head, but you hadn’t stepped into the stall before the door to the bathroom opened behind you. You screeched and grabbed a towel off the rack to cover yourself, as Bucky came in. 

“What the--” you began to tell him off, but were cut off by his lips, which had pressed to yours. The kiss was deep, his tongue brushing against your bottom lip, asking for entrance which you permitted. Your arms wrapped around his neck, your towel only staying up now because it was pressed between your bodies.

As you separated, Bucky reached up and wrapped his hands around your biceps and looked you in the eyes. “I was thinking that my best girl, the woman I love, was in a bad headspace and I needed to check on her. I’m sorry Doll, I should have checked the ice, but I was focused on you. Are you ok?”

“Am… Am I ok?” your breath was coming in short pants, and it was as if your brain shorted out for a moment before you began to laugh, “the man I’ve loved for months fell into icy waters because he was too focused on me to look down. Then he bursts into my bathroom, while I’m naked I might add, and kisses me out of nowhere and confesses he loves me? Yeah. I’d say I’m okay Bucky.” You pressed your forehead to his and he pressed a smiling kiss to your lips.

“Good. Now, get your butt in that shower before you get hypothermia,” he says with a huge, “hero smile” on his face. You drop your arms back to your towel before stepping back, backing towards the shower, but not breaking eye contact.

“What about you?”

“The serum,” he shrugged, “I can’t get hypothermia.”

“Are you sure?” you tease, lowering your towel just a little before adding, “better safe than sorry Sarge.” You drop your towel and step back into the shower, crooking a finger at him. You both smile even bigger as he strips and complies.


End file.
